Death In The Workplace: Dangers Take Many Forms

Posted By
Scott H. Palmer, P.C.

Most people don't think about dying when they go to work. To be sure,
there are some jobs, such as law enforcement, where the possibility of
violence is constantly present for many workers. And the fatal shooting
of an airport security worker two weeks ago was a reminder that workplace
fatalities can occur in many different ways.

For most jobs, however, the thought of dying in the workplace is usually
far from people's minds. When one looks at the overall number of workplace
fatalities, however, the cumulative national total is large. In 2011,
it was 4,609 workers, according to the federal Occupational Safety and
Health Administration (OSHA).

We discussed some of the reasons for this in our recent article on workplace dangers.

OSHA has lots of data on which of these dangers are most linked to workplace
injuries and deaths. Not surprisingly, violent incidents often receive
the most media attention. This is understandable, especially in a culture
like ours where so many mass shootings continue to occur.

It is also important, however, to continue to pay attention to more prosaic concerns.

For example, lack of proper fall protection and violations of scaffolding
safety standards are responsible for many fatal accidents and serious
injuries in construction and other industrial settings.

We encourage you to read our article on common workplace hazards. It contains
useful information about the most frequent types of workplace safety violations,
as well as the role of workers' compensation and third-party lawsuits
when those hazards cause injury or death.

COMMITTED TO LEGAL EXCELLENCE

Over the years, our firm has continued to collect various honors and awards for the outstanding legal representation we provide. Always striving to help our clients secure the best possible results, we believe in going above and beyond the legal call of duty to help our clients win.

*Scott Palmer is Board Certified in Criminal Law by the Texas Board of
Legal Specialization (2005 to present), David P. Housel, Jr. is Board
Certified in Family Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization (2004
to present).